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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

7 Things Bugging Me

I try to be positive most of the time ... at least on my blog. But today I'd thought I'd jot down a few things that have entered my life lately that just need to stop ...

1. Superbowl weather updates every 5 minutes We get it, it's winter. Geniuses ... you scheduled the thing in January ... in NY or NJ (not even sure which one, nor do I care) What did you think it was gonna be - "Sunny And 75"? (Joe Nichols) Stop telling me, "It's gonna be 35 degrees ... no wait, 34 ... no wait, there might be a snowflake" It's old. And lazy reporting. No one cares.

Actual sign on the door at the packet pickup atthe 2011 Rocket City Marathon

2. Presidents who assume we're all idiots Regardless of political party, they all try to convince me during the State Of The Union Address that things are better right this minute than ever before in the history of the world. Look around bro. At least last night I was treated to ol' Crazy Uncle Joe Biden pointing, laughing, and making faces at people. That dude cracks me up. Well played Crazy Uncle Joe, well played.

3. Every race I run having a disclaimer about headphones Whether you're pro or con headphones while running, if I'm going to be attempting to run 26 miles in your city without croaking ... HEADPHONES are the most important thing you have to warn me about? How about, "Hey dummy, better make sure you're in shape for this!" ... Or, "Watch out for gnomes!"

4. Shoe companies playing follow the leader In case you haven't noticed, the whole minimalist thing is slowly fading away (just like good ol' Jim predicted way back in June of 2012 - here) And what bugs me, is of course all of the shoes companies are now building bigger bulkier shoes ... coincidentally at the same time! I thought the flat shoes that pound the bottoms of your feet when you run were gonna save the world? I thought it was making us all run more like our ancestors? What the ... I've been duped! It's like there's not a single ounce of originality among these folks. All they do is wait for one company to try something, and then copy the idea to jump on the gravy train ... regardless if it's good for your foot, or running.

5. The media and Richard Sherman The only reason Richard Sherman remains in the media spotlight is because he's a trash-talking African American with long braids. It's an attempt by the media to exploit what is a perceived stereotype by some, and they know it will get a reaction from a few ignorant white people ... and maybe create this big social debate. Big deal, the guy talked a little smack after a game in which he made an incredible play, where he'd been jawing back and forth with the other player all day. Athletes, myself included when I was younger, have done that since the beginning of time. But the media will put him front and center on every news telecast because he looks like what a lot of the country "thinks" a pothead looks like. It's dumb. I don't care what Richard Sherman, or any other athlete or entertainer has to say about social issues. I just wanna see them crash into another individual at a high rate of speed. And if they talk trash after they do it, it doesn't affect me any way.

6. Feminine colored shirts in my race bag
As a skinny, frail, probably not the "manliest of men" runner, I have to deal with the jokes occasionally at work ...

"Hey, are there any guys who run those races", "Why are you doing that, I thought running was just a post-baby weight loss plan", "Are those actually your arms?"

So would it be too much to ask for a somewhat more MANLY color for some race shirts. This is the shirt from the Myrtle Beach Marathon a few years ago. I'm not joking. And the one from Richmond last year is bright, bright, bright orange. I'd show you a picture, but I'm sure you can see it from where you're at. C'mon man, I don't need any help being labeled as feminine. A nice camouflage, black, brown, or gray would be nice. Anything boring and dreary.

7. Vin Diesel Dancing The very first thing I saw on my "news" feed this morning was a video of some bald-headed actor named Vin Diesel Dancing. Wow ... you mean an "entertainer" was doing something crazy and wacky on the internet??? Stop the presses!!! And now, I've seen it like 57 times since. Did he cure cancer? Did he serve as a teacher? Did he rush into a burning building, or stop a mugging? Did he simply get up and go to work everyday at 7am, work til' 5pm, then come home and take care of a family? Nope, nope, nope, nope, and nope! STOP IDOLIZING THESE IDIOTS JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE IN THE MOVIES!!!! Vin Diesel dancing to some crappy pop song is not funny, entertaining, interesting, or news-worthy in any way.

Anyway - that felt good. Maybe I'll air it out a little more often. Have a great day - ha! Grumpy old man ... out!... be great today!

10 comments:

I agree with all of the above. Including Becka's comment about the women's cut shirts. And let me add...please no more white technical t's as race shirts. 90% of them are see-through. Not cool.

If you want to feel REALLY un-manly, try walking into a small-town Southern MO restaurant for breakfast in spandex. I'm pretty sure my riding partner was the only guy not in camo. No one would've mistaken us for locals. :)

(The Superbowl is physically being held in New Jersey bc that's where the NY Giants play- no room in New York to build another stadium. But either way, I'm glad I'm going to be out of town this weekend ;)

Bring the bowl back to NOLA. We had some of the most perfect weather you've ever seen last year.

I'm sick of most of these, too. I always watch the State of the Union, because it was assigned in a study designs class: we were supposed to record all the suspect stats cited and choose three to debunk. I still love to listen to it and laugh at how those numbers get chosen. It's always like, "One on three Americans saw their chance at joblessness drop in the last quarter." and we're left wondering...why such awkward wording? Does it mean only jobs in retail, which one in four Americans has? Or is it an overall 0.25% drop, so one in four sees a 1% decline? Or what?

Ha, I can relate to most of those! I also predicted ages ago the minimalist craze will blow over. Money was made and now a new craze must happen. I would rather not say anything about our presidents ;)

HA! I think you posted a while back about turning into a grumpy old man, you are doing very well Grumplestiltskin! (I'm trying to be funny - hope I haven't missed the mark - you also seem like you have a decent sence of humor) I inherited a feminine colored race shirt from my BIL. The comment was, I'm not wearing pink or a scoop neck. I really like the shirt and so happy to have it! Then that begs the question should I wear a shirt from a race I've never run? It was an 8K in Shanghai, so um, I'll probably never run it. But it is a fun conversation starter, usually 'Um who holds 8K races?". And the headphones, IKR? they have to be kidding me with this being the primary safety concern, it seems to be rampant, how about you must run on x side of the road or obey all race marshalls?

50 After 40

Hi ... Thanks for checking out my journal & notes on running 50 marathons in 50 states after the age of 40.
Running has added so much to my life, and hopefully some of my experiences will help your running in some way or maybe just provide a little encouragement! ... Be Great Today!